The positives of the 2014 Summer Steam Sale

The internet seems to believe that the 2014 Steam Summer Sale has been a complete bust. I disagree with that notion entirely. That being said, my reasoning is a bit, well, odd.

Both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are not backwards compatible. This is an unfortunate fact. Thankfully, my PC is able to play all of these 360 games I’d like to check out and revisit. That’s where the Summer Steam Sale has come in: about half of my purchases have been games that I already own.

It sounds crazy, I know, but thanks to the discounts, I’m able to essentially break even on the games after reselling/trading them in. It’s a win-win scenario: I don’t spend any extra money and I don’t have to mess in the combat zone behind my TV that is dozens of wires that belong to dozens of consoles.

Still, if the entire strength of the Steam Sale was based solely on games people already own, then the general consensus of its underwhelming nature would be confirmed. That brings me to the other side of the sale: Early Access. The other half of my purchases have been games that were either in Early Access or are still in Early Access. While I understand the growing stigma that comes with these games, it’s nice to be able to try something new out at a discounted price. It takes some of the sting off when you’re debating whether or not you should try something that others haven’t heard much about.

I understand the fact that this year’s Summer Steam Sale has yet to see any major discount, but it’s not always about the biggest and best getting super deep discounts. I’ve been able to round out my PC library and pick up intriguing games for very little money. At the end of the day, isn’t that what a sale should be about?

It's equally as important to remember that one person's trash is another person's treasure. You may not have enjoyed Octodad, but it's currently $5, and I'm sure someone can extract some serious value from that pricepoint.